Vespasian Warner Public Library District Clinton, IL 61727 Board of Trustees Meeting July 10, 2024 President Laura Hale called the meeting of the board to order at 6:02 p.m. Roll call was taken with the following members present: Hale, Janelle Sams-Thomas (at 6:03), Matt Love, Becky Adams, Camille Redman, and Clay Held. Absent: Stephanie Coonce. Also present: Executive Director Bobbi Perryman and Youth Services Manager Melissa Snow. Minutes—On a motion by Love, the June 12 board meeting minutes with correction were approved by voice vote. Approval of Bills—None Correspondence—None Staff Reports • The summer reading program has reached a new record of 778 participants, surpassing the previous 746. Snow hopes that by the end of the program that the library will surpass 800. • The library currently has three part-time youth clerks, whose schedules do not overlap. This creates problems with coordination and communication. In addition, since patrons have begun checking out items on the second floor, this has created more work for the youth area. Snow and Perryman believe the solution is turning one of the positions from part-time to full-time. A long-time employee in one of those positions could be interested in making the switch, which would be ideal. • Self-check-out has increased 56% from June of 2023 to June of 2024. • Walk-in patrons in youth and adult have increased by 9% over last year, and patrons are staying longer. • Patron evaluation of programs has been very positive. • The number of monthly interlibrary loan items sent out from the library have decreased from 2000 monthly last year to 1000 monthly this year, with 700 items sent in for our patrons, making the numbers more nearly even. Standing Committee Reports: A. Finance—An additional payment was made to IMRF to catch up. $19,000 has been paid, and an additional $20,000 was added. The proposed IMRF budget has been increased to $50,000. B. Property—A special meeting for ENTEC to update the board on the HVAC project has been set for Tuesday, July 16, at 6 p.m. ENTEC representative Tyler Bailliez thinks the project may come in under budget. C. Personnel—None D. Policy—None E. Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee—Focus Groups: Patrons with Disabilities, Teens, and Genealogists met. Patrons with disabilities would like to see more resources for disadvantaged readers, such as high interest/low ability books for junior high, young adult, and adult collections. These items cost about $5 each. The Friends of the Library have provided $300 seed money for this project. Signage indicating the location of the elevator is needed for the entryway, such as a sign indicating the elevator is located on the left. Promotion of accessibility and other options available at the library should be increased. The genealogists would like to have more microfilm digitized. Currently local newspapers from 1854 to 1968 have been digitized for free by newspapers.com. Newspapers after 1968 are copyrighted and cost $200 per reel (one year per reel) to be digitized by Advantage Archives. Perryman will discuss with Terri Lemmel of the DeWitt County Genealogy Society the possibility of working with the library to expand the newer years, from 1969 through 2006. Plans are for additional Focus Groups of the Friends of the Library, Seniors, and Caregivers to meet. Business Items: A. Risk Management Plan Update—The proposed changes include removing the position of assistant business manager, amending the role of business manager to fit current responsibilities, and adding the position of maintenance assistant. Sams-Thomas moved to approve the risk management plan with those changes. The motion was approved by voice vote. B. Review/Approve Tentative Budget and Appropriation Ordinance—The tentative budget has been changed to add 3% to staff costs to reflect the additional cost of converting one youth clerk position from part-time to full-time. The $23,000 additional cost will be covered by eliminating funds from databases that are not being used and other unused items. A motion by Adams to approve the proposed budget with that adjustment was passed unanimously by all board members attending. C. Set public hearing date for Budget and Appropriation Ordinance—The public hearing for the Budget and Appropriation Ordinance will be August 28 at 6 p.m., which will provide the time for public viewing required by state law. D. Appointment of two trustees to audit FY 23/24 minutes for IPLAR—Held and Redman were appointed to audit the minutes. Announcements—None Adjournment—On a motion by Adams, the meeting was adjourned at 6:51 p.m. Motion passed by voice vote. The next meeting is Wednesday, July 16, 2024, at 6 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Becky Adams